Andrew Stanton
| birth_place = Rockport, Massachusetts, U.S. | occupation = Film director, producer, screenwriter, voice actor | years_active = 1987–present | notable works = A Bug's Life Finding Nemo WALL-E John Carter Finding Dory Stranger Things | spouse = | children = 2 }} Andrew Stanton (born December 3, 1965) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and voice actor based at Pixar, which he joined in 1990. His film work includes writing and directing Pixar's A Bug's Life (1998) (as co-director), Finding Nemo (2003) and its sequel Finding Dory (2016), WALL-E (2008), and the live-action film, Disney's John Carter (2012). He also co-wrote all three ''Toy Story'' films and Monsters, Inc. (2001) Finding Nemo and WALL-E earned him two Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature. He was also nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay, for Finding Nemo, WALL-E, and Toy Story (1995), and for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Toy Story 3 (2010). Stanton also directed the sequel to Finding Nemo, Finding Dory, which was released in June 2016, two episodes of the series Stranger Things in 2017, and an episode of the series Better Call Saul in 2018. Early life Stanton was born in Rockport, Massachusetts. Stanton is a professed Christian. Career He was one of several CalArts graduates hired by John Kricfalusi to work on Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures at Ralph Bakshi's studio. ]] He was hired by Pixar's animation group in January 1990 studio as its second animator and ninth employee. Back then the company was not yet an animation studio, and their animation group was dedicated to making television commercials as a step towards their goal of making the first animated feature. In an interview with World Magazine's Megan Basham, Stanton explained his singular vision for WALL-E: "What really interested me was the idea of the most human thing in the universe being a machine because it has more interest in finding out what the point of living is than actual people. The greatest commandment Christ gives us is to love, but that's not always our priority. So I came up with this premise that could demonstrate what I was trying to say—that irrational love defeats the world's programming. You've got these two robots that are trying to go above their basest directives, literally their programming, to experience love." In addition to his direction and writing work for Pixar, he has also done some voice work, most notably as Evil Emperor Zurg in Toy Story 2 (1999) and Crush in Finding Nemo and Finding Dory. Stanton made his live-action directing debut with Disney's John Carter. The film is based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel, A Princess of Mars. On February 10, 2017, it was revealed by Entertainment Weekly that Stanton was going to direct two episodes of the second season of Stranger Things. Filmography Film Television Video games Award and nominations Academy Awards References External links * * A Day in the Life of Andrew Stanton – The New York Times * ** "The clues to a great story" (TED2012) }} Category:1965 births Category:Animated film directors Category:American animators Category:American Christians Category:Directors of Best Animated Feature Academy Award winners Category:Science fiction film directors Category:Living people Category:California Institute of the Arts alumni Category:Pixar people Category:Annie Award winners Category:People from Rockport, Massachusetts Category:American male screenwriters Category:American male voice actors Category:Writers from Massachusetts Category:American film producers Category:20th-century American male actors Category:21st-century American male actors Category:American male film actors Category:American storyboard artists Category:Film directors from Massachusetts